Local hotels aim to lure Super Bowl fans

With hotel rooms nearly sold out in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, many hotels in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes are offering special rates in hopes of attracting fans to the area.

Sable LeFrereStaff Writer

With hotel rooms nearly sold out in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, many hotels in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes are offering special rates in hopes of attracting fans to the area.Rich Hendrix, general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott, 142 Library Drive, Houma, said the number of calls from fans seeking rooms increases as the Feb. 3 game gets closer.“Right now New Orleans is selling rooms for $1,000 and up. They are looking at Houma as an attractive alternative,” he said. “We actually have people calling to book, and some are on a waiting list in New Orleans and making reservations here.”Houma is just 50 miles from downtown New Orleans, where the biggest game of the year will take place, bringing in thousands of football fanatics. Hendrix said he doesn’t know what to expect yet because weeks remain until the game. He will be better able to judge how popular the area will become once the competing teams are known. But the turnout so far has been promising.The Houma Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has been doing a great deal of work to get the word out about Houma’s accommodations, said Sharon Alford, the bureau’s executive director.“We are trying to attract visitors with our regional ads,” Alford said. “We have been doing extra regional marketing since there will be parades here in Houma that weekend as well. But until we know what teams are playing, that’s when we will know how many people are booking here. We look forward to helping those fans find a room so they can have a wonderful weekend.”Mardi Gras festivities mixed with the Super Bowl makes for a good vacation, Alford said. She said there is a good chance fans will be looking to attend parades, especially first-timers.“For those people who would be attending that never attended a Mardi Gras before, it is a perfect opportunity for them to experience two world-class events,” Alford said.The Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce is also excited about the influx of Super Bowl fans in the area, said Rhonda Dempster, the group’s executive assistant.“I’ve heard that a lot of hotels are booking up,” she said.Dempster said Mardi Gras will also help bring in fans to the city. “If people come into New Orleans, they want to come to Cajun country. That is part of their trip, so they come out in this area,” she said. Hampton Inn and Suites, 826 N. Canal Blvd., Thibodaux, is also attracting fans with its special rates for Super Bowl weekend, said front-desk representative Lakeisha Jackson. “We have been having an increase in people calling, and already we have a good bit of rooms booked for that weekend,” she said.

Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houmatoday.com.